Thursday, April 30, 2015

James' Baby Quilt

I couldn't just make quilts for friends, right? James needed one of his own :)


Fabric: Sasparilla by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Fabrics (I used a different line from October Afternoon for one of Ev's quilt, so this just felt right!).



I think the backing is an Alexander Henry print... another Instagram purchase from last year. I haven't checked out #thegreatfabricdestash in awhile... I should take a glimpse again soon, just to see if there's anything good ;)



 I love this size quilt (6x8 5" squares with a 4" border), as it fits perfectly over the infant carseat. We'll get a lot of use out of it... it seems that the second child gets lugged around a lot more than the first. E loves going on outings, so James gets to come, too!

Monday, April 27, 2015

A Pillow for E {April ALYOF Finish}



Thank goodness I worked on this pillow during the first week of April! With the addition of our newest little one, the rest of the month definitely wasn't conducive to sewing :)



E always likes new additions to her bed, and this one didn't disappoint. I quilted it with some swirls and added an easy backing. 

Done and done!



Goal Post 
Number 11 in the Linky Party

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Another Eye-Spy Quilt

A third college roommate/teammate recently had her first little one (a boy!). 

In case you lost track, out of a tight-knit group of 7 college friends, four of us had babies within a month of each other - we did not plan this! Out of us 7, there are now 7 future jackrabbits ;)



This baby's gender was revealed earlier in the pregnancy, but I still decided to go with an I-Spy quilt. They are just too fun to create, plus they really do "grow" with the baby even up into the toddler years. I love giving baby presents that are useable for a long time!


The mother grew up on a farm, so I just had to use this perfect panel for the backing! I found it on Instagram's #thegreatfabricdestash last spring. I still have another panel to use on a future project.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Welcome Gus-Gus {DIY Wall-Art}

Welcome Gus-Gus! Well, you're not Gus-Gus anymore... so...

Welcome James Thomas :)


He came three weeks early, but things are going well so far. He's a sleepy little thing during the day, but his nights are getting better. His latch is slowly getting better, too, so hopefully nursing continues to improve as well. 

I'll post more about him as the weeks and month go on, but as for now, here is the DIY Wall Art that I made for his nursery.


We have had this covered with a blanket for the last month or so... that way no one could see the name until he arrived!



Just a quick rundown of how we made this wall-hanging...

  • Dan joined two reclaimed wood boards with a brace and drilled a hole in the back where we can hang it on a nail (that's been pounded into a stud in the wall). 
  • I used my go-to charcoal transfer method to transfer the image of an elk silhouette (found after a quick internet search, enlarged in photoshop, and taped together after printing). 
    • This transfer method is a little more challenging on this type of wood. I was painting more by looking for the indentation made by the tracing step rather than the charcoal. I also had to eye-ball quite a few places where I couldn't see any indication of where I should be painting. 
    • I also learned that a paint marker doesn't work as well on this wood, so after finding the outline with the paint marker, I used craft paint and a small paintbrush instead. 




And, there it is! It looks a lot better out in the open than covered in a blanket!

PS: I'll post about his quilt soon :)

Thursday, April 16, 2015

A Pacific Northwest Baby Quilt

This baby quilt was also sent off a few weeks ago... after the birth of a little boy (gender was a surprise) to another of my college teammate/roommates. They live in the Pacific Northwest, so I thought it was the perfect time to cut into a plaid and stripes fat quarter bundle that I've had since 2012. I bought it at the Prickly Pear Quilting Shop in Helena, MT. It was a super cute little shop and I was happy to find a bundle of these plaids...


I had the border fabric on hand as well, so all I had to purchase was the backing (the binding was cut from the fat quarter bundle). Simple cross-hatching quilting was all this quilt needed. I loved how crinkly it was after I washed and dried it!!



In addition to the quilt, I also sent off this little wall plaque that I made. I used a scrap piece of wood from our reclaimed barnwood stash and painted an evergreen on it (after asking the mommy-to-be what would be a good, simple addition to their nursery). I braided some jute twine for hanging the plaque on the wall.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Three Peas in a Pod Baby Quilt

This baby quilt was sent off to a little lady born a few weeks ago (her mom was one of my teammates and roommates in college). The gender was a surprise, so I decided on doing an eye-spy quilt... the border and part of the backing has veggie fabrics that include "three peas in a pod" which is one of the ways that the happy parents announced the pregnancy :)


Simple construction and binding: 5" charms in a 6x8 layout and a 4" border... cross-hatching for the quilting and scrappy green binding for the finishing touches.



The backing, binding and a close-up of the peas in a pod!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Family Photo Series {Small Groups}

When doing an entire family photoshoot, it is always a good idea to do a few other specific groups...



Cousins! E was a little heavy for her cousin. We should have had him sitting to help him feel more comfortable. 



Grandparents with their grandchildren. Different heights: good. Background: OK; I think with the smaller groups, we probably could have worked it out to only have one texture, instead of the two you see here. 



Siblings and Spouses



Siblings. This wasn't even a staged picture, but I thought to show it anyways... sunspots and all! Because of the backlighting, I played with the lighting and added some filters. Some really dislike filters, but I'm a fan :) I think there is a time and a place for them. I may overuse them myself, but that's just my style!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

WIP: A Pillow for E {April ALYOF Goal}

Sorry for the poor lighting! I put together this block from scraps from the birthday dress that I made for E (her birthday is this month!) The colors match her bedroom really well, so I just had to use the scraps to make a scrappy pillow! 


My goal is to add an outer border, do a little quilting and then sew an envelope backing before throwing it on E's already full bed. Should be fun!


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Current WIP List...

  • 1 pillow top needing a border then quilting and then needing a back (current post)


Current UFO List...
  • Twin size quilt top needing a border then quilting and binding
  • A quilt top from my grandma needing quilting and binding
  • 1 lap quilt needing quilting then binding 
  • 6 baby quilt tops needing quilting and binding